WC 2003 - Criticism helped team, brought it together, says Wright

Cape Town: Indian coach John Wright said on Wednesday the criticism that had been heaped on his team after a poor tour of New Zealand earlier this year had helped its World Cup campaign.

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"We had problems adjusting to the unusual conditions in New Zealand," the former Kiwi opener said. "It probably helped us because we took a lot of criticism. Some of it was justified and some of it wasn't, but it brought us together. "What we needed to do was work on our confidence, particularly with our batting. That is starting to happen." Wright said his team would not under-estimate outsiders Kenyans in the World Cup Super Six match at Newlands on Friday.

"We played them three times on our last tour of South Africa last season," said Wright. "On two occasions we beat them easily and on one occasion they beat us. We're preparing exactly the same way we have for our other games. It's an important match and we'll respect the opposition."Wright said India had played well in a tough group to qualify for the Super Six and had come through some pressure situations.

"The boys are playing well. As long as our preparation is intense we should be fine."The Indian coach said the team's batting had been good and he was pleased with the improvement in the way the batsmen were running between wickets."We're learning about One-day cricket and particularly about the importance of rotating the strike." Wright indicated the likelihood of an unchanged team."There will be no rotating of players for the sake of it," he said. "It was likely the policy of playing three seam bowlers and one spinner would be continued."Copyright AFP 2001